


we're swimming with the sharks until we drown

by hwnghynjn



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: GUESS WHO WORKS THERE, I, M/M, Thank You All, another mildly adult themed meanie fic, but gyu doesn't know that :), but yes pls enjoy :D, giant huge sigh, i dont know anymore, i havent been writing in TOO LONG, love yall, makeupartist!wonwoo, not as a dancer tho, sigh, so basically it takes place in a strip club, soft despite the context
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-12
Updated: 2018-02-12
Packaged: 2019-03-04 07:53:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13359876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hwnghynjn/pseuds/hwnghynjn
Summary: "it's not my fault that i assumed wrongly!"wonwoo sighs, a sound underlaced with a hint of annoyance. "is everyone who walks out of a restaurant immediately a waiter?"





	we're swimming with the sharks until we drown

**Author's Note:**

> can i get uUHhHh crappy summary
> 
> anyway,, here's to another shitty meanie fic set in a less-than-appropriate location. im sorry for such a long wait for the gc fic but im caught in a rut and i have no new ideas for the gc but hopefully i pick it back up soon ;,) 
> 
> that aside, i hope you enjoy this fic!!

Mingyu isn't sure whether being inside a strip club was ever on his bucket list, but it's something he can finally cross out now.

It's cold against his face, the air-conditioning blowing against his face on account of him being taller than at least 60% of the patrons here. Around the general vicinity of his body and also everyone else it's warmer on account of the place being nearly full and packed to the brim with sweaty, cheering people.

This definitely isn't his usual scene. Bar, maybe; cafe definitely; but not a strip club, of all places. If Yeonsoo, a.k.a his childhood friend, hadn't told him excitedly about her new job, as a dancer in one of the most popular strip clubs in town, he wouldn't even have thought of stepping into the place.

Probably because he isn't exactly attracted to most of the dancers here, which leaves him decidedly bored. Yeonsoo's show starts at 9 p.m and it's currently 8:37.

"Yo, Gyu!" His other friend shouts, and he turns to see him with both hands full of alcohol, his face flushed despite them being here for less than half an hour.

"What the fuck, Jungkyun?" he groans, and swiftly grabs one of the unopened beer cans from the hand of his friend to prevent the other already opened one from sloshing over. 

"This place is fucking sick, man." His friend takes a swig of the beer in his hand and burps unattractively. "Can't wait for Yeonsoo to start."

"If you continue drinking like that, I don't think you're gonna make it." He's tried his best not to drink tonight but he feels too awkward and overdressed in his blazer, T-shirt and fitted jeans on account of him just coming back from his parent's business dinner. He'd take the blazer off but, in all honesty, he wouldn't want to accidentally drop it on the floor, sticky with what he hopes is just dropped alcohol.

They stand in silence for awhile, Gyu tapping his foot on the floor- all the while growing increasingly aware of how dirty it is- and his friend of ten years, Jungkyun, who, once he'd learnt how to drink, hasn't stopped at any given opportunity.

One would think that he'd learn how to handle it better, but nope. This man could get drunk off three wine coolers and a sip of beer.

"Fuck, Gyu-" Jungkyun stumbles, and turns to look at Mingyu with hazy eyes. "I think I'm-"

"Gotcha." He immediately heads to the nearest exit with his friend in tow and they barely reach the drain at the back alley before Jungkyun throws up. 

"I told you not to drink so much, you fucking idiot." Mingyu groans, and turns to see the back door of the strip club open and someone step out.

They're decidedly masculine, and by the time they feel someone looking and turn around, Mingyu's idle assumptions are confirmed. He's tall, maybe slightly shorter than himself, and his hair is a sandy blonde, straight and arranged messily over his brows. His eyes are smoky not just with the light touch of makeup around them but in that heavy-lidded sultry way, and he's dressed in a loose black sweater and skinny ripped jeans. 

He stares back at Mingyu, then at the still-puking Jungkyun, and a tired smirk upturns the left corner of his mouth. 

"A bit too much to drink?"

"He can't really hold his alcohol." Mingyu says, and turns to see Jungkyun kneeling down, exhausted and dizzy. He rushes over to catch his friend before he falls over into the filth of the drain. 

"Yeah, uh- you guys take care." The other man says, closing the door and walking in the other direction.

They make it back inside just in time to catch Yeonsoo's dance, which is everything her thirteen months of practice and lessons had brought her, and they congratulate her afterwards- she'd been particularly popular for a rookie.

As they wait for Yeonsoo to change back into her comfortable clothes, his mind wanders and goes back to that man they saw in the back alley before. 

They'd barely said anything, but it seems like all he can think of is him. 

Yeonsoo doesn't have a show tomorrow, but maybe he'd come back anyway.

-

It's been three consecutive days not seeing the man he first saw in the alley that day before when he finally bumps into him at 11pm on a Tuesday, outside aforementioned strip club, and Mingyu is trying to pretend he wasn't purposely trying to time it so that he walked in right as the man was walking out.

The man eyes him warily. He's in heavier makeup this time, much darker and his face seems more angular in the dim orange streetlights.

"Nice to see you again."

"Uh, hey. Same to you." Mingyu ruffles his own hair awkwardly. The other man is dressed in an oversized white button-down that hangs loose from his narrow shoulders, the collar slipping down to reveal a sliver of collarbone, a simple black velvet choker around his neck, and what looks like the same black jeans.

"So, where's Mr Can't Hold His Alcohol?" The other man seems to be trying to make simple small talk and Mingyu is more than happy to oblige.

"At home, I guess. I'm here alone today." Right as he says that he wants to slap himself. He should probably start thinking of the implications behind his careless words which more or less just made him look like some creepy pervert with nothing better to do on a Tuesday night.

Thankfully the man doesn't seem to notice. 

They're standing on the edge of the pavement, and from what Mingyu can see the other man is calling for an Uber, and so it's almost awkwardly silent when Mingyu's big mouth decides to pipe up again.

“So, uh-" He contemplates on what's the best way to phrase it. "So when are you- I mean, when do you, like-" He waves his hand around as if it conveys the simple message of "When do your shows start?" but actually makes him look like an idiot who has the vocabulary of a five year old.

The other man furrows his brows, looking adorably confused despite his smoky eyes. "When do I-?"

"When do you, um, perform, I guess." Mingyu looks down so that the gradually spreading warmth across his face is hidden, and when he glances back up, the other man is looking at him with something like amusement and a hint of a smirk gracing his lips.

"Hmm, I guess pretty much from 8 am to 10 pm most days." He replies, but there's something in his voice which makes Mingyu think that he's just messing with him.

Mingyu may be many things, but he has never been so confused.

Right as he opens his mouth to ask, a car drives up, and the other man is already getting into the backseat.

"Wait, what do you mean?" Mingyu calls out, and the man pauses before turning to smirk at him.

"Why don't you ask your friend?" He calls back, and gets into the car, leaving Mingyu behind with what he's sure is a comically befuddled look on his face.

-

Two days later, he's on the sofa at his house, Yeonsoo's head on his lap, busy stuffing her face with those overrated honey butter chips that are almost insultingly delicious. 

"Yo, Yeonnie." He calls, and when she doesn't reply he lifts both his legs and brings them down onto the sofa hard, so she's forced to get up. She does, scowling as she rubs her head.

"What?" She checks the sofa for any fragments of chips that might've fallen out of the bag, all the while casting a dirty glance at Mingyu.

"You know if there are any new male dancers at that club you work at?" He cringes once the words leave his mouth. Despite her being the first person he came out to as being demiromantic and bisexual- which took some explaining and getting used to for the both of them- he still isn't used to being so open about these things.

She sits straight up suddenly, her eyes twinkling. "Why, are you interested?" She winks, and Mingyu scowls. 

"No, just- just curious."

She scoffs and starts to list them off on her fingers. "Well, there's like four and they don't work the same shifts as me, but two of them are pretty buff and shorter than me-" which wasn't a huge claim since Yeonsoo happened to be 174 cm and who knew how tall in her heels- "-and the other two are tall, black haired, not too sure about names though, sorry."

"Anyone with like, sandy blonde hair?" Mingyu tries to recall any specific details about this man that would be relevant to his search, not just because he found them extremely attractive. "Around my height, maybe a little shorter, um- pretty skinny? He left as your dance started the other day-"

"Ah, Jeon Wonwoo!" Yeonsoo exclaims, and then eyes Mingyu with a mix of amusement and fondness. "He's not a dancer, you idiot, he's the new makeup artist." Her eyes soften as she looks at Mingyu, looking entirely surprised before he descends into a simmering pit of oh-my-god-what-have-I-done.

"You mean- what?" He struggles to understand, a) that the man is not a dancer after all and b) that he's probably just used up all of his current life's embarassment.

"Yeah, he does the girls' makeup before their shows." She brushes her shorts off and sits back down next to him. "He's super good at makeup but he doesn't really talk much. He's cute, though." 

"Yeah, he is." Mingyu says, still fuzzy from what she just told him.

"I have a shift tomorrow from 10 p.m to 12 a.m, if you wanna follow along-" 

"That's pretty late, though?" Mingyu frowns, not at the prospect of tagging along to see this infamous Jeon Wonwoo but that Yeonsoo had to work at such odd hours.

"So no then?" She says, finishing off the last of the chips in the bag.

"I didn't say that." He swatted her lightly on her arm. "I'll pick you up at 8:30?"

She nods, not replying as she tips the bag to let the remaining chip fragments fall into her open mouth.

-

He's dressed less conspicuously the next day, in a more casual black button-down and light blue jeans ripped at the knees. He picks up Yeonsoo from her apartment at 8:30 on the dot, still dressed in her hoodie and gym shorts.

"So, expecting to see your beloved Wonwoo today?" She teases, and Mingyu ignores her question while looking around for parking. 

"If you want I could slip you a backstage pass where we get our makeup done." Yeonsoo stage-whispers, which catches Mingyu's attention.

"Is that allowed?" He asks mildly, reversing into the spot he just found. 

"Yeah. It's just makeup. And most of the girls there would be happy to see someone like you backstage, trust me."

"Is that... I don't know, seems like I'm taking advantage of this thing-"

"Gyu, honey." Yeonsoo says, and he turns to see her smirking at him. "Trust me, I'll just say you're with me."

And so he follows Yeonsoo into the backstage area, already full of decked out girls in thigh high boots and skimpy lingerie that makes one part of him want to cover his eyes.

How the hell do girls walk, let alone dance in those 10-inch heels? He'd rather die before even thinking of suffering through that ordeal.

"What's up, girls?" Yeonsoo calls, setting her bag down and pulling out her costume. "This guy's with me, don't worry, totally trustworthy, he was thinking of closing his eyes when he stepped into here."

The other girls laugh before returning to their mirrors. Some are doing their own makeup, others are getting it done by professionals- but he can't find that lanky figure anywhere.

Yeonsoo steps out, a completely different person- this is the same girl he witnessed stomping in fresh mud in worn-out overalls and a ratty old T-shirt before falling flat on her face twelve years ago- and keeps her previous outfit into her bag, looking around and noticing Mingyu doing the same.

"Looking for Wonwoo?" she whispers, before pointing discreetly toward the back door. "He should be coming in in about 3, 2, 1-"

The door opens and Jeon Wonwoo steps in, right on the dot.

"How the hell did you know that?"

"Instinct, honey." She says, before laughing out loud at the confused look on the tall man's face. "Just kidding, he always comes in at 9:00 p.m right on the dot. He's here the whole day, pretty much, apparently his aunt owns this place."

"He works here full-time?" He says, mildly surprised. 

"You'd be surprised at how much you could earn in this place, on or off-stage." She puts back her hair in a headband and waves to Wonwoo. Mingyu suddenly doesn't know what to do with himself.

"Hey, Wonwoo, this is my friend, Mingyu." She gestures toward Mingyu, who waves by instinct. Wonwoo glances at him, the corners of his lips quirked up in a cute half-smile.

"He wanted to see how I managed to transform into a goddess, so work your magic, if you will, Mr Jeon."

Wonwoo shudders and murmurs, "Don't call me that, it sounds so weird." He pulls out a black case from his bag and opens it to reveal a whole bunch of neatly arranged products. He selects a tube of something clear and starts to apply it to Yeonsoo's bare face.

Slowly yet impossibly fast, Yeonsoo is transformed gradually from the gutsy, hoodie-clad girl he's known since he was 5 into a gorgeous Aphrodite-worthy woman, her eyes sultry and her lashes perfectly curled, her bone structure emphasized and highlighted, the arch of her brows refined yet teasing and her lips a dark shade of red both elegant and reckless. Someone else has done her hair while Wonwoo had been working on her eyes, and her hair is now long and wavy, fastened into a high ponytail that sits on the top of her head immaculately.

"All done, princess." Wonwoo says quietly, the small smile on his lips colouring his voice as he finishes off with her lipstick. His low, velvety voice is a contrast to his appearance, yet it still matches him perfectly. Mingyu can't imagine any other voice that Wonwoo could have.

"Damn, Wonwoo, you sure you're not a magician?" She says, appraising her sharpened cheekbones in the mirror, and the reworked Cupid's bow of her lips.

"You flatter me." It's taken roughly forty minutes and the dressing room has dissipated to around four other girls, two of them still getting their makeup done, the others stretching in their killer heels- Mingyu is both fearing for their lives in those weapons and also in awe of how their bodies manage to contort in impossible ways.

"Looks like my work is done here." Wonwoo says, and that clears Mingyu's daze. 

"Do you wanna grab a drink here or something?" Mingyu says, and Wonwoo actually seems to contemplate it.

"'Or something.'" Wonwoo says, and picks up his bag. "This place is a little too crowded for my taste- we could go somewhere else, if you'd like?"

'If he'd like'? "Yeah, of course. You lead the way." Mingyu says, glancing over his shoulder and silently thanking Yeonsoo a hundred times over for this opportunity, no matter how much embarassment he'd had to suffer for it.

-

They're at a bar slash cafe, and while Mingyu isn't entirely sure how that works, he orders a beer while Wonwoo goes for a martini.

"So, um, how long have you been working as a makeup artist?" Mingyu asks. After the beer, he's slightly more loosened up and as he's looking around at the classy clientele, he's thinking it was probably a good idea to go for the button down rather than a T-shirt.

"About two years." Wonwoo sips his martini, and as he does, Mingyu studies his side profile and appraises Wonwoo's pretty features. His eyes are narrow, and look endearingly sleepy but also infuriatingly suggestive with the smudge of dark brown at the edges of his eyes. His lashes are soft and untouched by mascara, which is the only thing Mingyu is sure of knowing because that's usually the only thing Yeonsoo has on on lazy days. His nose is cute and gives his face both a softness and an edge, because while his nose bridge is straight, the tip of his nose curves slightly to give it a less harsh appearance. 

Mingyu's eyes drift to his lips, which are pretty and bowed and small and pink and probably really soft.

He turns away.

"Since it's question time, allow me to ask something." Wonwoo says as he sets down his glass. Mingyu looks at him, curious.

"That day. In the back alley." He clears his throat. "Why did you immediately assume that I was a dancer?"

Mingyu nearly spits out his second drink.

"That- I, I guess I wasn't thinking straight-"

"Uh, you definitely weren't." Wonwoo gives a small smirk. 

"I guess, I'm not really familiar with the strip club scene, and I guess I didn't really know why else someone would be there- I, I always assumed that dancers just did their own makeup?" Mingyu's face is warm and it's not because of the third drink he's currently downing in shame.

"They can, sometimes." Wonwoo says casually, sliding his finger around the rim of his glass gently. Mingyu knows it's not meant to be suggestive, but apart from being an adorable habit, his eyes can't help but follow the movement of his slender finger as it travels around the glass.

"I'm sorry, I was just kinda out of it, and also my friend was pretty distracting and I was sorta tired." Now that he think about it, Yeonsoo has mentioned how she wouldn't be able to do makeup for herself if it wasn't for the new makeup artist at the club before her first show. He mentally slaps himself.

"You're lucky it's me and not some other less accepting person." Wonwoo laughs softly, amused.

"It's not my fault I assumed wrongly!"

Wonwoo sighs, a sound lined with a hint of annoyance. "Is everyone who walks out of a restuarant immediately a waiter?"

"No, but-" Mingyu sighs. The alcohol from his finished second drink and the embarassment and the strange stirring in his chest from being so near to Jeon Wonwoo has combined into a concoction of red cheeks and a heated neck. He lays his head down on the bar, a sudden spike of confidence coursing through his veins.

"You're pretty." He mumbles, embarassed. Wonwoo looks surprised. 

"Thanks?" He mutters, not entirely looking at Mingyu. He holds his glass in both hands and Mingyu feels an overwhelming urge to reach out and hold them.

"I guess, maybe because- I thought you were really pretty and handsome and good looking and so I just associated you to being a dancer, I guess." Mingyu closes his eyes for a second, his eyelids drooping slightly. He always gets tired around his third drink. He has to be the most boring lightweight ever.

"I'm flattered." He hears Wonwoo say, and then a soft chuckle. "And I thought I was the short-sighted one here."

"If I am short-sighted, maybe I need to double check." Mingyu leans closer to Wonwoo, who at this point is frozen in his seat.

"Nope, still pretty." He says as he moves away, and the elder breathes a sigh of relief.

"Are you okay? Maybe you should take a break from the drinks." Wonwoo said, looking mildly worried at the nearly-sleeping Mingyu.

"Nah, I'll- I'll be fine." Mingyu says. "I still need to pick Yeonsoo up-"

"I'll go with you. I don't think you can drive in this state."

"Mmm. Yeah, you can come with me." 

Wonwoo checks his watch and it's already 11:51 p.m.

"Hey, Kim Mingyu." He calls, tapping the taller on his shoulder.

"Yeah?"

"I think we should go." Wonwoo calls for the bill and after paying discreetly for them both, he helps a half-asleep Mingyu on the way to his car.

At first Mingyu's arm is around his shoulders, but after a short bit of walking to his car the taller man's hand drops down and catches gentle hold of Wonwoo's.

And it stays there until they reach the strip club.

-

Due to some strange higher being's work, Wonwoo ends up going back to Mingyu's apartment, because the younger man is so tired he can barely walk straight.

"This always happens. He probably forgot to eat before drinking, he becomes a huge baby if he doesn't." Yeonsoo grumbles, her slender body effortlessly holding up the weight of Mingyu's arm.

"I think I'll bring him up from here. You've had a long day, you should rest." Wonwoo says.

"Are you sure?"

Mingyu's drowsy voice suddenly pipes up. "Yeah he's sure. Good night, Yeonsoo."

"Men." Yeonsoo huffs playfully, then beckons goodbye to Wonwoo and Mingyu as the two of them head toward the elevator.

Wonwoo staggers a little bit but they reach the door safely and Mingyu manages to unlock the door on his own.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Mr Jeon." He says, smiling. Wonwoo smiles back.

"I hope you do." He says, slowly stepping back in the direction of the elevator.

In the elevator, he texts Yeonsoo and asks for Mingyu's number.

Maybe it was a good decision to head out the back door instead of the main door that day, when he saw the taller man and his friend head out that way. 

 

**Author's Note:**

> this is such a SHITTY ENDING IM SORRY but i didn't want to end it with wonwoo going back to gyus house or whatever bc its so much more wholesome than that, actually. i hope yall like this and im sorry for not updating, its been a shitty couple of months. ily all and please leave comments if you have anything to say, they always make my day :)


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